Four months later.....
“Come on, AJ,” Amanda Latona said. “Let’s go for a walk through the park.”
“Okay, fine.” AJ got up thinking, Sure. A walk through the park where I met Destiny. They got their jackets and jumped into AJ’s Mercedes. They drove to Brian’s house and parked the car there, then walked to the park.
All the way there, AJ’s mind was on Destiny. He thought if he’d be with her instead of Amanda right now if she were alive. AJ went to the funeral with Brian, Kevin, and his other friends Howie Dorough and Nick Carter. None of them had known Destiny, except for AJ’s brief encounter with her, but AJ still wanted to be there. AJ talked to Destiny’s family and they told him that it would probably be best if AJ kept her chow puppy, so he did. It was probably what Destiny wanted. Ever since then, AJ always felt like she was around. He dreamed of her and what they could’ve done together, even to the point of a totally erotic dream, and he’d wake up completely frustrated. To make it worse, AJ swore he could feel the touch of her skin, the softness of her lips when they kissed in his dreams. He never told anyone about those dreams.
“AJ, are you there?” Amanda said, waving a hand in front of his face.
“Oh, sorry,” AJ said, coming out of his reverie. “Did you say something?”
“I said, aren’t the stars beautiful tonight?” Amanda was beginning to get annoyed.
Her and AJ had been dating for the last four months, but she kept getting feeling that he wasn’t hers completely yet. Like there was someone else, but AJ never talked about anyone else. They had a great relationship and Amanda never got any real evidence that there was another woman in the picture. No strange phone calls, no weird messages on the answering machine, no late-night pagings, nothing. But there were times, like this one, where AJ seemed to be somewhere else.
“AJ,” Amanda began. “You think we have a great relationship, right?”
“Yeah,” he said.
“Then I think it’s time to move to the next level. Now, I don’t want you to get freaked out, but.....”
“What is it?” AJ asked.
“I love you,” Amanda blurted out.
AJ just stood there, stunned. He never expected Amanda to tell him she loved him. He looked at her and could tell she was waiting for him to say it to her.
“I.... love you, too,” AJ said hurriedly.
Amanda let out an excited yell and threw her arms around him. AJ put his arms around her, too. What have you done, he thought. Well, it’s not a lie. I do love her on a certain level. But what if we’re not on the same level? Too late now. Amanda pulled away and gave him a long, sweet kiss. Then the two of them continued their walk through the park, holding hands.
“That’s supposed to be me down there,” Destiny said. “That girl just moved right on in after I died.”
“Destiny, you’re an angel now,” God said. “You have to let that world go.”
Tears came to her eyes as she heard Alex tell that other woman he loved her. She couldn’t keep the tears from falling down her face. God put a comforting arm around her. He couldn’t stand to see such a beautiful spirit cry and be unhappy. Ever since Destiny had come to Heaven, she tried to hide how sad and unhappy she was, but He could see right through it.
“Daughter, the best thing you can do now is just watch over him and protect him,” God told her. “Watch over his family, his friends, his career. He’ll know it’s you.”
“It’s not the same,” Destiny said. “I want to go back. I want to be with Alex.”
Destiny couldn’t watch Alex with that other woman, so she turned around and walked away, leaving God wondering if he had taken her too soon.
AJ was dreaming of Destiny again.
He was walking towards her purposefully. As soon as he reached her, he brought his lips down on hers hard. He felt Destiny respond with complete passion. AJ put his arms around her, bringing her as close to him as he could. Destiny wrapped her arms around his neck, seeking the touch of his body. AJ picked her up and laid her down on the bed. Destiny sat up and took her shirt off, letting AJ see all that she had to offer him. AJ took off his own shirt and watched as Destiny looked at him, desire darkening her eyes.
AJ laid on top of Destiny, thrilling at the touch of her skin against his. They kissed a slow, open-mouthed kiss. Their tongues did a lover’s tango while they explored each other’s bodies and removed every piece of clothing until there was nothing but skin between them. AJ marveled at how soft her skin was and his desire to make love to her became more urgent as she moaned at his touch. Now, he was in position to enter her....
AJ felt something hit him and he woke up. He opened his eyes and saw himself on top of Amanda, who had decided to stay the night with AJ. She was looking at him worriedly.
“Honey, what are you doing?” Amanda asked.
“I don’t know,” AJ said as he rolled off her. Damn it!! he thought. Why did it happen while Amanda was here? “I was having a strange dream.”
“ ‘Erotic’ is the word I’d use to describe that dream,” Amanda laughed. “Who were you dreaming about?”
Can’t tell her the truth. “Who do you think?”
“Well, we can make that dream come true if you like,” Amanda said, covering half AJ’s body with hers.
Why not? It’ll relieve the frustration, he thought. AJ answered her with a kiss. It wasn’t anything like AJ’s dream, but at least Amanda was a real person that loved him.